Current Initiatives

Current Projects

Photo Credit: Evan Montellese at Maine Ocean Farms

Wild Shellfish Spat Settlement Study

In 2024, members of the Working Group highlighted concerns about variable clam seed settlement on the mudflats, and a need to better understand patterns of settlement to inform municipal shellfish management. To help answer these questions, Manomet and Tidal Bay Consulting received a grant from the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership. The overall objective of the project is to determine when and where shellfish spat is settling in intertidal and subtidal habitats, and explore new and innovative methods to restore intertidal clam populations in Casco Bay. The project has three main components:

1. To survey shellfish harvesters and farmers about observations of shellfish spat settling on mudflats, aquaculture gear, and other coastal infrastructure. This will include collecting information about the timing, location (habitat or gear type), species, and relative amount of spat settlement.

2. Collaborate with three oyster farms (Mere Point, Maine Ocean Farms, and Ferda Farms) to conduct weekly monitoring of spat (using this ID card) on their oyster gear over the course of the growing season.

3. To conduct field monitoring of natural clam settlement in mesh bags deployed in the mid- to low- intertidal. This is based on observations from 2023 that documented significant settlement of softshell clams in mesh bags that were deployed in the intertidal as part of a separate project to explore new methods of growing quahogs.

While outside the scope of this initial grant, once this project wraps up, we are interested in applying our findings to further exploring innovative strategies to collect and protect wild spat for stock enhancement of softshell clam populations. This may include finding partners to design and test biodegradable netting that could be deployed in the intertidal.

Intertidal Access Initiative

Working Group members identified access to the intertidal as a key issue at a meeting in October of 2021. Changes in ownership of coastal properties and limited knowledge about the economic and cultural importance of shellfish harvesting has contributed to the loss of informal access agreements between property owners and harvesters. This initiative focuses on developing guidance to help towns assess their options to preserve intertidal access for harvesters in their community.
In the summer of 2022, we released a guidance document: Preserving Access to the Intertidal: A guide for coastal stakeholders and municipalities. In 2022, Manomet also started working with Brunswick, Harpswell, Yarmouth, Arrowsic, Georgetown, and Phippsburg to compile an inventory of current and historical access points through a pilot mapping initiative. Please contact Emily Farr for more information or if you are interested in mapping access points in your town.
In fall of 2022, we convened a meeting with nine land trusts in the region to discuss the importance of land-based shore access. We are continuing this work in 2023 through outreach with realtors and collaborating with other organizations in the state who are working to preserve shore access, including land trusts.

Community Outreach and Education

To date, the Working Group has focused on collaborating with members from shellfish committees, including harvesters; local nonprofits; and municipal staff in the Casco Bay region. In 2022, we held our first public-facing event at Luke’s Lobster at Portland Pier to highlight diverse culinary preparations for quahogs and soft-shell clams, while educating participants about the importance of the fisheries.
In 2023, we expanded our outreach to the general public by participating in local events where we shared information about the cultural, economic, and ecological importance of shellfish and the harvesters who earn a living from these intertidal resources. This included a partnership with Maine Street Bistro at the first Casco Bay Seafood Festival in June, where their talented chefs prepared quahog ceviche. In 2023 and 2024, we had a strong presence at the Yarmouth Clam Festival, distributing hundreds of tide-to-table placemats, riding in the parade with a giant clam hod, and working with the Chamber and their food distributor to learn more about their local sourcing of clams. Read our letter to the editor here! Contact Jessica Joyce for more information on these initiatives.

Ecological Survey

Manomet has been working to develop new survey tools and techniques that can be implemented by shellfish harvesters and municipal management bodies. This survey builds on techniques from the Maine Shellfish Handbook and incorporates additional shellfish species, such as quahogs, surf clams, and oysters, and also species that impact shellfish resources, such as milky ribbon worms, sand worms, and blood worms. As we have developed the survey protocol over the past two years, we have consulted with ten municipal shellfish programs and have spent many hours on the mudflats testing different approaches.
We are currently finalizing the data sheet format and a data entry process, which will be made publicly available in the fall of 2024. We anticipate this more holistic approach to surveying mudflats will shed light on the ecosystem dynamics of shellfish habitats, provide context for historic and current resource surveys, and allow for analysis of regional trends.
Contact Dr. Marissa McMahan at mmcmahan@manomet.org for more information.

Shellfish Ordinances and Residency Requirements
With recent increases in home prices and inflation, residency requirements and licensing were topics of interest raised during our December 2022 Working Group meeting. In an effort to provide information to town shellfish committees as they review their ordinances, our ResilienceCorps fellow, Virginia Hawkins, collected information and conducted interviews in winter and spring of 2023.
Through this research, we hope to gain a better understanding of how residency requirements in municipal shellfish ordinances are affecting shellfish harvesters' ability to maintain their commercial licenses as the cost of living in coastal Maine towns continues to increase. In fall of 2023, the Working Group released a guidance document for towns navigating these challenging discussions, *Residency and Access to Commercial Shellfish Licenses*. Contact Jessica Joyce for more information. Photo credit: Christina Lemieux

Get Involved

Join us at an upcoming Working Group meeting and check out other meetings for the shellfish community! Click the event below to see meeting details and other relevant information.

Banner Image from Christine Stack Photography.